Thursday, June 5, 2008

UW Regents Propose to Pass Tab for Vets' Education to Students

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that the UW Board of Regents is proposing to increase tuition at it's four-year colleges by 5.5% to help offset the costs of the Wisconsin GI Bill.

The increase would amount to almost a $350 increase per semester at the big schools, and $265 per semester at the smaller ones.

The Wisconsin GI Bill is a plan implemented by Gov. Jim Doyle in 2005 that pays 100% of veterans' tuition and fees if they attend approved in-state colleges.

In the beginning the bill only paid 50%, but last year the state government upped the ante to 100% remission.

The Wisconsin GI Bill works in tandem with the Montgomery GI Bill, which currently pays $1101 a month during the school year to eligible veterans who have served three or more years of active duty.

What should happen here is the state government should just scale the program back to 75% remission or even 50%...because for the troops who get the Montgomery GI Bill, they're not paying for school anyways. They may have to manage the money they do get a little better, but the Wisconsin GI Bill and Montgomery GI Bill combined more than covers the cost of education at any university in the UW System.

A civilian student shouldn't have to work extra shifts at Ma Fischer's to pay for their education and somebody elses because the state government doesn't feel like following through on its promises to the troops.